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A novel way to massively improve the SQ of computer audio streaming


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Most important: please realize this thread is about bleeding edge experimentation and discovery. No one has The Answer™. If you are not into tweaking, just know that you can have a musically satisfying system without doing any of the nutty things we do here.

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Wow! Just wow! 

 

I've been travelling for work and hadn't checked this thread or indeed site since Monday. Just spent a delightful hour catching up. 

 

Epic posts from @romaz and @Johnseye. Brilliant work Roy / John and fascinating findings. Roy great to see you back. Great contributions from many others too. 

 

I'll also echo the thanks to Rajiv for his tireless efforts in keeping "the best" thread ticking over with knowledge, discussion and entertainment. 

 

I'd be tempted to invest in the SoTM switch if it wasn't for pesky @Superdad and @JohnSwenson and their upcoming switch. Darn you Alex & John for trying to raise the bar ?

 

But as I try to digest all this I find Roy's switch as a firewall concept circling. Given that I have a server that outputs Ethernet and a DAC capable of accepting Ethernet, does that imply that putting a very good switch (TLS/SoTM/UpTone) in between the server and DAC might rival the optimised USB (TX-USBultra) path into the DAC? 

 

It's certainly an intriguing area to explore. I reluctantly moved from Ethernet to USB feeding my DAC as the TX-USBultra simply changed the game. A switch as an Ethernet TX-USBultra equivalent (also capable of being externally clocked) would add options. 

 

A great switch with great power supply might also be a reasonably cost effective path to sonic nirvana that also avoids spaghetti for those not wanting to add reference clocks and whatnot. 

 

Cheers, 

Alan 

Synergistic Research Powercell UEF SE > Sonore OpticalModule (LPS-1.2 & DXP-1A5DSC) > EtherRegen (SR4T & DXP-1A5DSC) > (Sablon 2020 LAN) Innuos PhoenixNet > Muon Streaming System > Grimm Audio MU1 server > (Sablon AES) Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC > PS Audio M1200 monoblocks > Salk Sound Supercharged Songtowers

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15 hours ago, lmitche said:

Flkin,

 

While I am not done yet, I keep getting distracted by the music, I found the Lush cable sounds better without the Mumetal.  Instead I have applied it to dc power cables, one at a time, with listening sessions after each run is treated.  So far I have the Mumetal braid on both the ISO Regen feed from an lps1.2 and the USB card feed from an LPS1. Next I opened the PC and covered the big 8 conductor 12 volt CPU/EPU cable to the motherboard.  Each application adds a level of refinement, with the big CPU/EPU cable change the largest so far. This makes sense to me. Each of these cables are single or dual gotham jssg360s.

 

I am currently procrastinating application of the last run between the sigma 11 and the hdplex 400 watt smps powering the big 24 pin ATX connector side of the motherboard. The music sounds spectacular.

 

More stay tuned.

 

Larry

 

My MuMetal conduits are conductive on the outside so I hope you’ve taken the necessary precautions when installing your braids inside the computer. I suppose they would be conductive also. 

 

Good to hear you’re getting results with dc cables. When I find time I’ll try experimenting with DC too

 

 

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On 7/22/2018 at 2:09 PM, Cornan said:

A question regarding LPS-1.2. Have anyone tried to feed the LPS-1.2 with a battery pack? Since LPS-1.2 is somewhat sensitive to the feeder supply IME it could be an interesting thing to try. I do have a 16.8v (6A) lithium battery pack that I could try. It is in storage at the moment so I’ll need to dig it out. It would be helpful if someone knows if it is worth a persue or not?

 

I know for sure a LPS-1.2 with battery will measure slightly different (better) vs SMPS. 

I have seen the curves. 

 

If the will will affect the SQ it another question. We are in the noise level below or between -140 to -160 dB. 

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3 hours ago, hieukm said:

Hi Flkin,

 

i also have IC cables with Mumetal shielding and experience the same with yours. The speed and amount pf detials is unbelievable, bass is much tighter. However there is a problem with the treble that makes the sound not organic and digital. Do you think it will go away in time.

 

 

Interesting to hear. My 3/4” Spira-Shield Co-Netic annealed MuMetal conduits couldn’t fit over my Harmonic Tech ICs. If I had a chance again I would go for the 1” diameters instead. 
 

I dont think time is going to solve this. It seems to make USB digital sound highly detailed with very tight bass (great on paper) but isn’t organic and for me slightly recessed. Given your experience too, it’s starting to look like a character of MuMetal over signal cables?

 

Its like an over damped sound with a loss of mid range making it recessed. That’s why I’m going to cut the conduits into quarters and experiment again from there. Are your ICs build with MuMetal shield or did you add your own later? Which ICs are these?

 

There’s another concern, that the MuMetal is affecting the signal in the cable too which would be bad. But the positive attributes of what I’ve heard is so good it worth trying to find a solution to this “over dampness” problem. 

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On 7/23/2018 at 6:08 PM, BigGuy said:

Maybe a silly or previously discussed topic but has anyone compared a JSSG360 construction with just multiple layers of braid/foil/etc that have no insulating layer?

 

Not having experimented myself to the extent of many posters here, I am wondering if it is the 360 construction or a case of building a thick enough wall?!  E.g., doing JSSG360 on the Gotham with its own multiple layers of shield seems to be a winner.

 

IIRC, someone commented that several layers of shielding tightly in contact with each other without a ground or insulation would constitute a Faraday cage.

 

What we need is a new “standard” of DC connectors so we can use thicker cables and tons of JSSG 360 all over the place. 

 

Same can be said for other cables. 

 

It seem to me now the plug / connector is the limiting factor. 

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49 minutes ago, flkin said:

 

Interesting to hear. My 3/4” Spira-Shield Co-Netic annealed MuMetal conduits couldn’t fit over my Harmonic Tech ICs. If I had a chance again I would go for the 1” diameters instead. 
 

I dont think time is going to solve this. It seems to make USB digital sound highly detailed with very tight bass (great on paper) but isn’t organic and for me slightly recessed. Given your experience too, it’s starting to look like a character of MuMetal over signal cables?

 

Its like an over damped sound with a loss of mid range making it recessed. That’s why I’m going to cut the conduits into quarters and experiment again from there. Are your ICs build with MuMetal shield or did you add your own later? Which ICs are these?

 

There’s another concern, that the MuMetal is affecting the signal in the cable too which would be bad. But the positive attributes of what I’ve heard is so good it worth trying to find a solution to this “over dampness” problem. 

I think it does resolve with time. After some burn in then the over dampness seems to improve while other character remain. I am playing continuous music through next 2 weeks to see if it goes away. 

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31 minutes ago, hieukm said:

I think it does resolve with time. After some burn in then the over dampness seems to improve while other character remain. I am playing continuous music through next 2 weeks to see if it goes away. 

 

That would be great! Please keep us informed. I can see how that may work with your ICs as all cables do take time to burn in but for a conduit over a seasoned cable setup, not sure what would be burning in. Would an electrically separate conduit burn in I wonder?

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3 hours ago, R1200CL said:

 

What we need is a new “standard” of DC connectors so we can use thicker cables and tons of JSSG 360 all over the place. 

 

 

Yes, it already exists and is made by Jaeger, as used in the Paul Hynes power supplies. This xlr-style connector is very bulky though, so it'll never catch on for the mainstream and won't fit onto those tiny Uptone boxes.

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10 minutes ago, TheAttorney said:

 

Yes, it already exists and is made by Jaeger, as used in the Paul Hynes power supplies. This xlr-style connector is very bulky though, so it'll never catch on for the mainstream and won't fit onto those tiny Uptone boxes.

 

That's in the supply side and as you mention, for larger supplies. The best game in town for the barrel seems to be the Oyaide but they redesigned their barrel making it shorter. We need an alternative. 

 

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20 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

 

That's in the supply side and as you mention, for larger supplies. The best game in town for the barrel seems to be the Oyaide but they redesigned their barrel making it shorter. We need an alternative. 

 

I have successfully used the gx-16 aviation connectors on the sigma 11 power supply cases built here. They are a bit big, but easy to solder, and with embedded screw on cable locks are very reliable.

 

There are 12 mm versions as well, but I have never tried them.

 

Both also come in multiple pin versions from 2 and up.

Pareto Audio aka nuckleheadaudio

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1 hour ago, TheAttorney said:

 

Yes, it already exists and is made by Jaeger, as used in the Paul Hynes power supplies. This xlr-style connector is very bulky though, so it'll never catch on for the mainstream and won't fit onto those tiny Uptone boxes.

 

Well i was thinking even more advanced. Where you can connect each quad core as well as all the induvidual screens. So probably som sort of locking mechanism equal to Metz doing on ethernet plugs for creating the faraday cages. 

 

You would probably like to have dual or triple connections for creating the screen loops done by the connector. Requires some new thinking in connector design. 

Probably some modular stuff, where on module do screen and the next can fit whatever power to connect. AC or DC. 

 

It should probably be available in 2 or 3 sizes, so the technology also could be used on both AC and DC and even interconnect cables. 

 

I wonder if it’s possible to convince Furutech to create such a plug ?

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6 hours ago, R1200CL said:

 

I know for sure a LPS-1.2 with battery will measure slightly different (better) vs SMPS. 

I have seen the curves. 

 

If the will will affect the SQ it another question. We are in the noise level below or between -140 to -160 dB. 

 

It does’nt matter anymore. I have a bettery powered 2A LT3045 in my pipeline and guess that will answer those questions powering my Spdif output of my BlueWave board (powered by balanced ac-ac>Sigma 11>HD-MS-HPULN>LT3045>ISO Regen). I will post my impressions here with and without Kemet A750.?

 

 

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On 8/1/2018 at 5:38 PM, Superdad said:

 

Should JS expect any royalty checks? B|

 

You could sell your special Oyaide plugs to Ghent, and let John get some of the profit. Restrict the use to best sounding JSSG 360 cable. 

 

These pluggs probably open up to lower AWG as well. 

 

Of cause there is a minor problem here, since we can’t use those plugs with the present version of the USPCB. (And UltraRendu)

 

Maybe you have a update to share regards the USPCB ? ?

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2 hours ago, TheAttorney said:

Yes, it already exists and is made by Jaeger, as used in the Paul Hynes power supplies. This xlr-style connector is very bulky though, so it'll never catch on for the mainstream and won't fit onto those tiny Uptone boxes.

 

If moving away from small plugs we would like to get away from all these round pin types that rely on light contact along their circumference.  Proper high-current, ultra-low impedance connectors use blades that press against each other.

The best of these are Anerderson Powerpoles and Neutrik SpeakON—with multi-conductor versions of both available.

 

Of course we recognize that such does not address what do to about the DC barrel jacks used in most components—primarily for their size and universality.  It's a lot like how audio got stuck with RCA jacks/plugs—from the early days of radio (for you young’ens, RCA = Radio Corporation of America).

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19 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

You could sell your special Oyaide plugs to Ghent, and let John get some of the profit. Restrict the use to best sounding JSSG 360 cable. 

 

As previously explained, our arrangement with Oyaide prohibits us from reselling the plugs we get from them.  The deal is for our use of the plugs exclusively on our own cables.

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On 8/3/2018 at 3:43 PM, Johnseye said:

 

It appears I'm unable to purchase directly from Oyaide's site.  They only list Japanese shipping locations.  I've reached out to Joe at the Lotus Group for more info.

 

Yes, $6 per piece is reasonable, but I suspect it costs them $1 to make.  The $15-20 you see on ebay shows the markup from Oyaide's retail cost.  I doubt they make anything on freight.  

 

How hard can it be to find a manufacturer willing to make let’s say 10.000 quality DC plugs in 2.1 mm and 2.5 mm with and without 90 degree that fits our needs and specifications ? 

 

I think it’s very easy, but not when it come to the financial part off the deal ?

 

Obviously the best would be to have Oyaide prosuce a bigger version (even huger than those Alex is buying).

 

What I don’t understand is the reluctance to do, if any. 

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29 minutes ago, BigGuy said:

Has anyone ordered the barrel connectors from France that someone posted about? 

Wonder if they are like "original" or "revised" Oyaide.

 

Personally I would’nt think about it too much. Oyiade or screw terminal DC plugs makes almost no difference when I have tried it. I also think that J.S. still

have’nt found a good reason to change despite his research about alternative DC plugs.

 

 

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25 minutes ago, BigGuy said:

Has anyone ordered the barrel connectors from France that someone posted about? 

Wonder if they are like "original" or "revised" Oyaide.

 

They sent me samples of them a couple of years ago (right after Oyaide had sent me first samples of their new small style and I was in a panic about what to do—before I was able to convince Oyaide to make me 1,000 of the originals again).

 

The French plug (likely still made in China) is fine.  It is certainly more like the original Oyaides in that the “ground” strap/strain-relief is not short—though it is a thinner, more flexible metal than on the big Oyaides, just like the thinner strap on the short ones.

 

It would have been fine for us except for:

a) the price even in hundreds was a bit high;

b) unlike the Oyaide plugs where the red tip-ring indicates 2.5mm and the black tip is the 2.1mm, both sizes of the Audiophonics plug have black tip-rings.  That’s a serious problem for us as we include and sell our cables for JS-2 buyers and offer both 2.5>2.5 and 2.5>2.1 versions—often shipped in the same box.  Did not want to have to put custom-printed heat shrink on all the ends to identify for clients.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

They sent me samples of them a couple of years ago (right after Oyaide had sent me first samples of their new small style and I was in a panic about what to do—before I was able to convince Oyaide to make me 1,000 of the originals again).

 

The French plug (likely still made in China) is fine.  It is certainly more like the original Oyaides in that the “ground” strap/strain-relief is not short—though it is a thinner, more flexible metal than on the big Oyaides, just like the thinner strap on the short ones.

 

It would have been fine for us except for:

a) the price even in hundreds was a bit high;

b) unlike the Oyaide plugs where the red tip-ring indicates 2.5mm and the black tip is the 2.1mm, both sizes of the Audiophonics plug have black tip-rings.  That’s a serious problem for us as we include and sell our cables for JS-2 buyers and offer both 2.5>2.5 and 2.5>2.1 versions—often shipped in the same box.  Did not want to have to put custom-printed heat shrink on all the ends to identify for clients.

 

 

Just found the link to the FRoyaide vendor

<http://www.elecaudio.com/en/hi-fi-connectors/285-elecaudio-dc-21g-jack-dc-connector-5521mm-gold-plated.html

and the pic of internals confirms what you indicate so may be a reasonable alternative to the shortened Oyaide design for small consumers like this group...

image.thumb.png.519ccc80a443b6d22bd5b97bd25a9704.png

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3 hours ago, R1200CL said:

 

You could sell your special Oyaide plugs to Ghent, and let John get some of the profit. Restrict the use to best sounding JSSG 360 cable. 

 

These pluggs probably open up to lower AWG as well. 

 

Of cause there is a minor problem here, since we can’t use those plugs with the present version of the USPCB. (And UltraRendu)

 

Maybe you have a update to share regards the USPCB ? ?

I use a right angle Oyaide DC connector when using the USPCB.

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25 minutes ago, d_elm said:

I use a right angle Oyaide DC connector when using the USPCB.

 

Yes, same here. If the USPCB was just a few mm extended i could use the Metz 90 degree ethernet connector. 

 

I’m hoping for an extended version of the USPCB.

 

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Oh no, I was hoping that maybe Jay could have borrowed a pair of Habst from @romaz because (other than Synergistic Research) that should be the only choice with separately connected ground

 

https://audiobacon.net/2018/08/11/the-audiophiles-short-list-the-best-digital-coaxial-cables/

 

Did anyone try Synergistic Research's flagship from their lending library by any chance?

 

https://www.thecableco.com/lending-library

https://www.thecableco.com/galileo-uef-digital-5428.html

40% off the RCA version

https://www.thecableco.com/galileo-uef-digital-2m.html

They even made an Ethernet cable

https://www.thecableco.com/galileo-uef-ethernet-cables.html

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9 hours ago, lmitche said:

I have successfully used the gx-16 aviation connectors on the sigma 11 power supply cases built here. They are a bit big, but easy to solder, and with embedded screw on cable locks are very reliable.

 

There are 12 mm versions as well, but I have never tried them.

 

Both also come in multiple pin versions from 2 and up.

 

They are ideal if the case has enough room for them. I am presently using 3 pin mini XLR connectors wherever possible, as they are also lockable. However ,it's still hard to terminate larger gauge wires., although you can bore them out a little if need be.

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

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